Danger
by Karen-Charlene
Summary: When Catherine goes through a traumatizing event, Lou tries to help her overcome it and move on with her life.
1. Danger

**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI nor the characters, but I do own the man in this chapter.**

**Rating: M.**

**A/N: Okay, you're seriously gonna hate me after reading this chapter, but it wasn't entirely my idea, it was a request!**

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><p><strong>Danger<strong>

It had been a slow night; only two robberies and a 4-19. It seemed as though Vegas' criminals had decided to take a break for one night.

Halfway through the night Catherine Willows had decided it was pointless to stay at work when there was no work to do; she had even finished her paperwork. Fortunately, Grissom agreed and let her go for the rest of the night. If something came up he would just call her back in to work.

Since it was only 2am and Lindsey was on a sleepover, Catherine didn't see a point in going home yet and decided to do something she hadn't done in a while: relax over a drink.

After the third drink had slid down her throat and burnt in her stomach she decided to go home. Since she was a little tipsy and her house was just a few blocks away, she decided to walk home and come back the following day to pick up her car.

She wrapped her jacket tighter around her body to avoid the cool air of Vegas at night and started walking home.

The clicking of her heels was the only sound echoing through the dark, quiet streets. It was until another sound of footsteps joined it. Her brain immediately alerted danger and, without looking back, she sped up her pace. She heard the footsteps behind her speeding up as well and her heart picked up pace as her legs did the same. Soon she was running, and so was the mysterious figure behind her.

Her heart was beating at a furious pace as she tried to run away from her possible attacker, but unfortunately he was quicker and caught up to her, slamming her, face first, against a wall of a quiet, sided alley. She tried to scream, but no voice would come out of her mouth. Before she could reach for her gun the attacker grabbed it and yanked it out of its holster.

"I'm Catherine Willows, I'm a CSI." She panted as he pressed the barrel of the gun roughly to her temple, leaving a slight mark on the skin. She tried to keep calm, hoping that revealing her identity would scare him away, but the fear crept into her voice and her heart was pounding in her chest. The tears were already forming in her eyes, threatening to come out every second.

"Shut up, bitch! I don't care who you are!" the man said with a stern voice, pressing the gun tighter to her temple and making her whimper in pain.

"You're goin' to do what I tell ya to do and you're gonna like it," he whispered into her ear, causing her body to shudder with fear. "Am I clear?"

She didn't answer. She was so scared; Catherine Willows was scared. She suddenly lost all her confidence and strenth, and her shield was gone. Suddenly, big, tough CSI Willows was gone and instead was a terrified Catherine with tears rolling down her face, dragging her black mascara along the way. Her body was shaking violently and she could swear she could hear her heart pounding.

"I said, am I clear?" The man raised his voice, pressing the gun tighter to her temple. She whimpered again and nodded in fear.

"Good," he said as he grabbed her hip roughly and spun her around, tossing her to the ground further inside the darkened, lifeless alley. She landed on her back by the smelly garbage bags dumped there. Her left elbow was hit with the fall and started bleeding and her body was shaking uncontrollably. She couldn't get up and run away; she was frozen. Everything was happening so fast and she was still in shock and wasn't sure what was happening.

The attacker walked over to her with a devilish smile on his lips and lowered his body to hover over hers. That was the first time she saw his face; he had a devilish smile and en evil gleam in his eyes.

"My, my, aren't you a beauty?" he semi-whispered while trailing the gun across her cheek, down her neck and onto her cleavage. Her breath hitched and her body jumped slightly off the ground as the cold metal of the gun made contact with her skin.

He pulled the gun back out of her while blouse and pressed it to her forehead. "Make the slightest sound and you're dead," he threatened. She only nodded in response; she couldn't find her voice. She had never been so scared in her entire life.

He grasped at the fabric of her blouse and ripped it open, making buttons fly everyone. Catherine yelped quietly and squeezed her eyes shut, and he did the same with her white bra, eliciting another suppressed yelp from the strawberry-blonde beneath him and causing her to squeeze her eyes tighter. Once her breasts were on show, the man bent down and took her left nipple into his mouth, sucking roughly. Catherine's eyes remained shut and a quiet sob escaped her lips.

"Please, stop," she whispered, trying her hardest not to cry.

He, however, ignored her and leaned up, claiming her mouth with his own, but she bit down on his tongue, causing him to bleed into her mouth and groan out loud in pain. He pulled back and raised the gun, slapping her across the face with it and leaving a deep, bleeding cut on her right cheekbone. Her head fell to the side with the hit and she bit her lower lip hard - making it bleed - to stop herself from making a noise.

The man undid her black trousers, took hold of the waistband and yanked them off of her legs. She closed her legs tightly, which made him even angrier.

"Open your legs, bitch!" he yelled. She shook her head, still biting her lip and her eyes still shut tightly. He gripped her bare thighs and roughly yanked her legs open, making her whimper in pain.

"Please, don't," she whispered and opened her eyes, letting the tears stream down her face.

"I said, shut up!" he ordered, slamming his hand tightly over her mouth and nose, which made it impossible for her to breath. She struggled, desperately trying to free herself from his grasp. She was squirming beneath him, slowly turning paler, and he just pressed his hand tighter to her mouth and nose, enjoying the sight of her struggling beneath him; it just aroused him even more. Eventually she brought her hand up and scraped her manicured nails down his arm.

"Ow! Bitch!" he shouted as his hand left her mouth and she desperately gasped for air.

She was breathing fast and heavily, trying to get her oxygen back, but her attacker wouldn't let what she had done go so soon and he punched her multiple times in the left ribs, causing her to let out a scream of pain and squirm beneath him, her eyes closed tightly once again.

"I tried being nice," he said as he undid his trousers and pushed them down to his knees. "Wanted to make it good for you, too. Now you can forget about it."

He freed his straining erection from his boxers and pushed her panties to the side, and with one, hard thrust he was buried deep inside of her. She cried out in pain as he stretched her walls.

He wasted no time and started moving fast and hard within her. She wasn't wet at all and the pain was unbearable. She tried to struggle and push him away, but he kept pounding into of her, grunting and groaning, and playing with her breasts.

"God, you're so tight," he panted as he picked up the pace and slammed inside of her. She knew nothing would stop him, no matter how hard she would try, so she turned her head to the side - her eyes once again squeezed shut and her teeth biting down on her lower lip - and just lay there and waited for it to be over.

A few minutes later he gripped her hips tightly, the cold gun pressing against her stomach and his fingers against her bruised ribs, as he jerked before exploding inside of her with a groan.

Catherine lay still, her body shaking with fear, as he pulled out of her and zipped up his trousers. He bent down and stroked her cheek with the gun, making her shake even more, before putting the gun in his back pocket and leaving.

She remained in the same position for a few more minutes, still not exactly registering what had occurred, before slowly getting up, pulling her trousers up her legs, wrapping the torn blouse and the jacket tightly around her bruised body and slowly limping toward her house, trying to ignore the pain coursing through her whole body.

When she walked into the dark, quiet house she was still in shock. All the thoughts were mixing in her head, causing it to throb. She locked the door with the key and the chain and double-checked it was indeed locked before leaning her forehead against it and closing her eyes with a sigh.

She headed upstairs and into the bathroom. After all her bloody, dirty clothes had landed on the floor - and she made a mental note to burn them - she didn't dare look at her naked body in the mirror, so she just stepped into the shower. The hot water never ceased to pour on her body as she scrubbed it roughly over and over again, almost emptying the bottle of the shower gel.

She felt dirty, filthy. She wanted to be cleaned, but one shower could never do that, no matter how much shower gel she used.

When the sponge she was using eventually started hurting her from all the scrubbing and leaving red marks on her skin, she dropped it on the floor and leant against the glass door. She stared deep into empty space as the hot water trickled over her body. That was when the realization of what had happened sank in.

She had been raped.

She slid down the glass door until she landed on the floor and placed her head on her knees as she sobbed out loud, the tears washing away with the water and blood.

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><p><strong>DUN DUN DUN DUN! <strong>**Don't kill me!**

**More to come soon. Please leave me reviews.**

**-Zohar.**


	2. Back to Normal

**Disclaimer in chapter 1.**

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update! I'm making up for it in a long chapter, though ;)  
>Enjoy and review! (:<strong>

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><p><strong>Back to Normal<strong>

7am in the morning. The sun was up, the sky was bright; the birds were tweeting; the grass was green; people were walking their dogs and driving to work; talking to their neighbors or picking up the newspaper from their driveway.

Catherine was standing in her kitchen, by the counter, staring out of the window, and the only thing she could think of was, how could everything be so… normal? How could the world just move on as though nothing had happened to her just a few hours ago?

She hadn't slept at all that night. Every time she'd gotten into bed and closed her eyes, his face – the evil gleam in his eyes and his devilish grin – had instantly appeared in her mind; haunted her, and every time, she had run to the bathroom and vomited. She'd taken extremely long showers, just scrubbing her body to try and get the feeling of his body off of hers. She could still feel him inside of her, on top of her; smell his breath; feel his hands.

As a criminalist, she knew she shouldn't have taken a shower; she should have collected evidence and examine herself, but she didn't want an investigation. She didn't want anyone knowing what had happened to her and she didn't want to think about it anymore. So she settled on just taking a rape kit when she'd be at work the next night.

She was so lost in thoughts that when the two pieces of toasted bread jumped out of the toaster, she jumped as well. She had been jumpy and scared all night and all morning; every slight noise or movement around her would startle her and cause her heartbeats to quicken and her breath to hitch.

She pulled the two pieces of bread out of the toaster and placed them on a plate before sitting down at the kitchen table. She wasn't even hungry; she was still feeling sick, but she knew she had to eat something, especially after vomiting all night and losing all her stomach contents. Besides, she wanted – she needed - to forget everything about that night and move on with her life, but it was too difficult. How could she move on when she couldn't even close her eyes because his face would haunt her?

She couldn't understand why she didn't fight harder; why she just lay there frozen and let him do whatever he wanted with her and her body. She was never a coward – always strong and brave. What the hell happened this time, when she needed her strength the most?

She nibbled at the bread but it just made her nauseous. She dropped it back onto the plate, rested her elbows on the table, and buried her head in her hands.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. Her head shot up and her heart started pounding in her chest. The first thought passing through her head was that it was him; he was coming back for her.

She slowly stood up and made her way to the breakfast bar. Reaching for the kitchen knives, she grabbed one and started walking cautiously toward the front door, her heart beating faster with every step she made. As she got closer to the door, her steps were slower and her heartbeats were quicker. She didn't want to open the door; she didn't want to know what, who she would find behind it.

She was scared.

Catherine Willows was scared.

When she finally reached the door, she stood on her tiptoes, her grip tightening around the knife, and peeked through the peephole. She let out a huge sigh of relief when she saw her boyfriend's face through the hole. She unlocked the door and released the chain before swinging the door open and letting the hand holding the knife drop and the grip to loosen a little bit.

"Lou," she breathed out his name.

"Don't kill me." Came Louis Vartann's amused voice as he saw the knife in her hand.

"Sorry, I… I was cooking," she told him the first excuse she could think of. She didn't want him to know what had happened to her; she didn't want anyone to know. She was humiliated and embarrassed, and most of all, she was terrified.

Lou, however, wasn't paying attention to her answer as he noticed the cuts on her cheekbone and lip. "Hey, what happened?" he asked concerned as he brought his fingers to touch the cut on her cheekbone, but as soon as his fingertips made the lightest contact with her skin, she flinched and moved away, making Lou frown in confusion.

"It's nothing. What are you doing here?" she quickly changed the subject, not wanting to be questioned about her appearance. Even though only the two cuts on her face were showing, she felt as if her whole body was exposed to the world; as if the words 'I've been raped' were written on her forehead. She felt exposed and vulnerable.

Lou could sense something was wrong, but he could also sense she didn't want to talk about it so he let it drop at the moment. "I tried calling you a few times but you didn't answer so I came over to check you're okay. I haven't seen you all week."

"Yeah, sorry, I've been busy with work." She tried to speak as quickly as she could to end the conversation. She was afraid that if he stayed longer, he might see through her and guess what had happened the previous night. "I'm fine, juts a little tired. I'm gonna go get some sleep."

She knew it wasn't going to happen, she wasn't going to get any sleep, but she needed an excuse to get him out of there. It wasn't that she didn't love him or didn't want him anymore – she did – but she couldn't stand being around anyone at the moment, especially not a man.

"Okay, do you want me to stay?"

"No," she answered quickly, shaking her head.

He frowned slightly. Something was bothering her and he didn't know what. Was she breaking up with him? Had he done something wrong? He wasn't going to stay if she didn't want him to, but he made a mental note to talk to her about whatever it was that was making her act this way later, when she was calmer.

"Okay. Well, call me if you need anything." He touched her arm lightly, but again, she flinched and moved away. He sighed softly, turned around, and started walking toward his car. Catherine opened her mouth, wanting to call him, wanting to tell him, wanting him to hold her, but changed her mind and closed her mouth. She watched as he climbed into his SUV, waved her goodbye, and drove off. She shut the door and locked it before leaning against it and sighing.

She closed her eyes and she could see every single moment of the events from the previous night playing in slow motion in her head. It was as if her brain was trying - and succeeding - to torture her, more than she was already tortured. She could see his face, feel his weight on top of her, and hear his husky voice. The pain was still coursing through her body mercilessly, and not just the pain between her legs or the pain from the bruises all over her body, but the pain she was mentally feeling; the feeling of weakness and vulnerability, and the fear that was suddenly causing tears to roll slowly down her cheeks.

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><p>A few nights later, Catherine was sitting in her office and going through her paperwork.<p>

She had gone back to work right after the horrific night she had had, trying to convince herself that she was fine and that she could get over that night and move on with her life. Nevertheless, she was far from fine and moving on. That night was all she could think of and the horrible images kept flashing in her mind, making her sick.

Even Lindsey had noticed something was wrong with her mother but tried to stay out of it. Lou had tried talking to her every now and then but she had pushed him away every time. She knew he was only trying to help and she could see how worried he was, but she wasn't ready to talk. She didn't want to talk at all; talking about that night wouldn't help, it would only make things worse.

A knock on her office door interrupted her thoughts and made her jump slightly – she was still very jumpy and paranoid.

She cleared her throat before calling, "Come in."

The door opened and Nick walked into the office. "Hey, I found the vic's address, you coming?"

"Yeah." She stood up and clipped her badge to her belt. She wasn't going to let that night affect her job; she was going to do it properly. If there was anything her history had taught her, it was that whenever something happened to her, working was the best way to get over it and forget about it. She did it after divorcing Eddie, after saving Lindsey's life, and after losing her father and co-workers; this time shouldn't be any different. She wasn't going to let the rape get to her.

When Lou noticed she was heading toward the door without taking her gun with her, he frowned. "Where's your gun?"

Catherine stopped in her tracks as the images of her attacker threatening her with her own gun and then taking it with him after having his way with her and leaving her dumped on the ground, flashed through her mind. When she realized she was standing in the middle of her office, frozen with her eyes shut, she drew in a shaky breath and opened her eyes. Hoping her colleague and friend wouldn't notice something was wrong, she stuttered, "I, uh… I sort of… lost it." She looked up at the Texan, biting her lower lip slightly as if fearing of his reaction.

"You lost it? Cath, you gotta report it."

"I know, I will." She nodded. "Now, can we please go?" She tried to avoid the conversation and left the office before he could add another word. Nick looked after her with a frown on his face before following.

Later that night, he walked into the fingerprints lab to find Sara standing in front of the computer and marking dots on a fingerprint sample.

"Hey. Tough case?" He took place next to her with his own fingerprint sample in hand and watched as the computer was trying to find a match to Sara's sample.

"Armed robbery; two DBs," the brunette CSI replied. "The gun found at the scene is a 9 millimeter."

"The kind that cops use," Nick completed her sentence. "A dirty cop maybe?" he brought up a speculation.

"We're about to find out." Just as she finished her sentence, the results popped on the screen.

"Joe Miller," Nick read from the fingerprint owner's profile and looked at the picture; he had a messy, black hair and brown eyes and he looked no older than 30 years old.

"He's not a cop, and he has a criminal record," Sara scrolled through the profile. "Two robberies and an abusive record; he hit his ex-girlfriend. Charges never filed. Maybe he stole the gun." She turned to look at Nick as though waiting to hear his opinion.

"You know," Nick's brows suddenly furrowed, "Catherine told me earlier that she'd lost her gun." When Sara looked at him with a frown, he added, "But maybe it's just a coincidence."

"I'll get PD to bring him in," she said as she picked up her phone. "See what he has to say."

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><p>"Where'd you get the gun?" Sofia asked the suspect as she sat down next to Sara across from him. He only shrugged in response.<p>

"Look," Sara said, "we know you robbed the store and committed the murders, and you're going to jail for that. Now, if you don't want to add a few extra years to your sentence, you better start talking. Where did you get the gun?"

"Some chick," Joe muttered.

"Was she a cop?" she questioned.

"Dunno." He shrugged again.

Sofia sighed in annoyance. "Stop playing games. You stole the gun and that's a felony, especially if it belonged to a cop. Now tell us who you stole it from."

"All I know is that her name is Catherine Willows and she works for the crime lab or something like that," he said, obviously not bothered by any of this.

Sara and Sofia exchanged somewhat shocked looks as they heard their colleague and friend's name, and their attention was drawn back to Joe as he said with a repulsive grin on his face, "I'm telling you, LVPD shouldn't hire such hot cops."

"What did you do to her?" Sofia questioned.

"Just gave her what she wanted." He smiled smugly. "Walking like that, in the middle of the night, with those tight pants and open blouse-"

"You raped her?" Sara interrupted.

When he saw the rage on her face, he started sensing that he was in trouble and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms against his chest. "I'm not saying another word without a lawyer."

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><p>Sara knocked on Catherine's office door and waited outside until she heard the CSI's voice telling her to come in.<p>

"Hey," she said softly as she walked into the office and settled on the couch.

"Hi. Is everything okay?" Catherine asked, glancing briefly at her before returning her attention to the files in front of her.

"Um… we found your gun," the younger CSI said hesitantly.

Catherine's eyes widened slightly and she gulped, not daring look at her colleague. "You did?" She knew that if Sara had found her gun, she also found the man who'd stolen it, which means she had found her rapist.

Sara nodded. "And we found the man who took it," she confirmed Catherine's fears. By now the strawberry-blonde's heart was beating so fast, she was sure it would jump put of her chest.

_'Please don't tell me she knows. I will bury myself alive of humiliation.'_

"Catherine, why didn't you tell anyone?" Sara asked softly, sympathy in her voice. Joe hadn't exactly admitted to raping her, but seeing Catherine's reactions, she knew she was right.

Catherine coughed nervously, ran a hand through her hair, and eventually looked back down at the files on her desk. "I… I don't know what you're talking about."

"Catherine…" Sara tried but was cut off.

"Can I have my gun back?"

"It's in custody; it's an evidence," the brunette replied. "Catherine, you can't keep it inside, it's not healthy. You need to talk to someone," she almost begged, the sympathy never leaving her voice.

Catherine stared at her. She didn't want to talk about it, especially not with Sara. It wasn't that they weren't friends; on the contrary, they had gotten rather close over the years, but Sara wasn't the person she wanted to confide in, especially not about something like that. She could still remember their fight from two years ago, when Sara referred to her unprofessionalism and use of sexuality at work, and she had a feeling that her colleague would find a way to blame her and her lifestyle in what had happened to her.

She was just opening her mouth to say something when they heard a knock on the door and the door opened.

"Hey, Catherine, we got a break on the case," Lou said as he walked into the office. He looked between the two women staring at him. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No," Catherine answered.

"Yes," Sara said at the same time, causing the two to stare at her.

There was an awkward silence before Catherine turned back to Lou. "You were saying?"

"Well, the vic's car was found two blocks from the crime scene. I'm going there now, you coming?"

"Yes." She was about to get up but was stopped by the pleading eyes of the younger CSI staring up at her.

"Catherine…" she tried again. She didn't want to push her, but she also knew that keeping what had happened to her a secret would only make her feel worse. She wanted her to talk about it, let it out, and if not with her, then with someone else, who could help her.

Lou looked between the two CSIs again, confusion written on his face. There was another awkward silence in which Catherine was glaring at Sara, who was looking at her worried. If Lou was going to find out about the rape because of Sara, she would kill her.

Lou finally broke the silence by saying, "Well, if you're done, I need you."

"She'll be right with you," Sara replied before Catherine could open her mouth. "I need to talk to her for a moment."

"Can't it wait for later then?" he asked. "We got work to do."

"No, it can't," she insisted. "I need to talk to her now. Can you wait outside please?"

"Are you throwing me out?" He raised his eyebrow. "It's Catherine's office and I think she made it pretty clear that she doesn't want to talk right now."

"Will you two just shut up?" they suddenly heard Catherine shout while getting up and slamming her hands on the desk, causing some papers to fly. The detective and CSI turned their heads to look at her wide eyed and rather intimidated by her sudden snap.

"Both of you, out!" She pointed sharply to the door and when they didn't move and just kept staring at her, she yelled, "Now!"

Quickly, they left the office with frowns of both confusion and concern on their faces. She waited for the door to close before plopping back into her chair with a heavy sigh. It was as though she was now using the power and force she hadn't used a few nights ago, as if to make up for it, feel safer; to protect herself. Sara had found her secret and she felt exposed and vulnerable.

Lou closed the door behind them and turned to face Sara. "What's up with her?"

She looked at him and sighed. "You're dating her, right?" He nodded. "Have you noticed anything… strange about her lately?"

"Well, she seems to be a little paranoid and quiet and she doesn't really want to be around me or talk to me," he said slowly, trying to figure out a reason. "Plus, she has those bruises on her face and she wouldn't tell me where she's got them. Why, you know what's going on with her?"

She sighed again. "You should probably talk to her about it."

"Sara, if you know anything, you need to tell me now."

She looked at the closed door. She didn't want to hurt her friend but she knew it was probably the best way to help her. "I shouldn't be the one to tell you this but, uh… I think, um…" She was nervously trying to find the right words. "I think she's been… raped." She said the last word more quietly.

Lou's eyes widened and his mouth and throat were suddenly very dry. He wasn't sure he heard her correctly, but he didn't dare ask her to say it again; he couldn't hear this word again when it was referring to his girlfriend, the woman he loved so much.

How could he have not noticed? All the signs were right there in front of him: the bruises on her face, the fact that she wouldn't talk to him or let him near her, how every little thing would scare her. He just gave her the space he thought she needed, thinking it would just go away. Why didn't she tell him? How could he have been so stupid? He wasn't there when she needed him the most.

"I think you need to talk to her," Sara said. "She needs you right now."

He nodded speechlessly, still dumbstruck. "Yeah, I… I'll talk to her after shift."

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><p><strong>I'm going to publish two more fics soon if I have time, and I'm also going to write a sequel to Life Changing Experience, so make sure to check them out (:<strong>

**Please tell me what you think and I'll try to update soon.**

**-Zohar.**


	3. Talking

**Disclaimer in chapter 1.**

**A/N: I have 5 days off school, which means I have a lot of time to write (although I'm vacationing with my family right now). So here's chapter 3 ;)**

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><p><strong>Talking<strong>

Lou couldn't concentrate on anything at work. What Sara had told him was bugging him nonstop. He had fucked up. Catherine needed him and he was blind. He was so angry with himself.

On the way to her house, he couldn't stop thinking about how badly he wanted to kill the son of a bitch who had hurt his girlfriend. He didn't realize how tight he was holding the steering wheel until he saw how white his knuckles were.

However, when he pulled up outside her house, he took a few deep breathes to calm his nerves before he got out of the car. The last thing Catherine needed to handle was his rage. He had to be calm for her; she needed him.

The moment she opened the door, his heart broke. She looked nothing like the way she had looked at work; she was wearing the longest sweaters in the wardrobe, her blue eyes had lost their sparkle, her face looked tired and exhausted, and she looked scared and weak. All he wanted to do was pull her into his embrace and hold her close and tight, but he knew it was probably a bad idea if Sara had been telling the truth. And looking at Catherine now, he knew she had.

"Lou, what are you doing here?" Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts and back to reality.

"Can I come in?" he asked softly. "I want to talk to you about something."

Wordlessly, she stepped aside to let him in, closing the door behind him and locking it; with the key and the chain. After double checking it was indeed locked, which had become a routine since the rape, she walked into the living room to find him already sitting on the couch.

She wasn't sure how she felt about being alone with him in the house. Inside, she knew he would never hurt her, but being with someone – and a man – scared her. It wasn't that she didn't trust him; she didn't trust anyone. She didn't feel safe and comfortable to be close to anyone, especially men. Still, she walked over to the couch and slowly sat down as far away from him as possible.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked, looking at anything but him.

He didn't try to move closer to her. He could imagine how she was feeling and understood, and he didn't want to scare her or make her feel uncomfortable. So he stayed still as he said, "I want to talk about those bruises." He pointed to her face, his voice still soft and calm. "You want to tell me how you got them?"

She looked at him for a moment before looking down at her hands. "Sara talked to you, didn't she?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" He tried to keep his voice from breaking; he had to be strong for her, but she could hear the sadness and hurt in his voice.

"I was embarrassed," she whispered, tears filling her eyes and threatening to fall out.

"Cath, you have nothing to be embarrassed about, you did nothing wrong." He tried to hold her hand but she moved it away and onto her lap, which only broke his heart a little bit more.

"You want to tell me what happened?" he asked softly. When she didn't move or say anything, he said, "It's okay, you don't have to tell me."

They were sitting there in silence for what seemed like hours before Catherine suddenly started speaking quietly, getting Lou's full attention. "I was walking home. I'd had a few drinks and didn't want to drive, and my house was near by." She paused and Lou kept looking at her silently, not wanting to push her.

She took a deep breath before continuing. "I heard footsteps behind me." Her eyes were fixated on the floor; she didn't have the courage to look at him. "I started running, but he caught up to me. He grabbed me and pushed me against a wall."

Lou felt his stomach doing flips and his fists clenched by his sides. Hearing what had happened to her was tougher than he had thought. She had barely started talking and he was already feeling sick and wanted to kill the scumbag who had raped her.

Catherine could see the events from that night – every second – as she was speaking. It felt as if it was happening all over again. She could see his evil face smiling mischievously at her; she could feel the cold metal of the gun pressing against her temple; she could smell his breath and feel it hitting her face; she could feel him moving fast and hard inside of her, stretching her walls and causing her an unbearable pain. She wasn't sure she could tell Lou – or anyone – about it. She wasn't sure she could relive that night after spending the last few days trying so hard to forget it. But she knew she had to talk about it, get it off her chest. And Lou was there for her, he wanted to help her.

"He threatened to kill me," she whispered, choked from the lump in her throat. "I wanted to fight, push him away, but I couldn't. He threw me onto the ground, into some alley. He ripped off my clothes and touched my body." She paused and took a deep, shaky breath to stop herself from vomiting.

"I struggled, tried to stop him, but he just kept pressing his body to mine and hitting me."

Lou looked at the bruises on her cheekbone and lip, and then his eyes started scanning her body, looking for more bruises.

"Where did he hit you?"

"On my side," she whispered, her voice shaky, and he could tell she was trying to stop herself from crying. He couldn't understand how, even after going through what she had, she was still doing her best to stay strong and tough. Why wasn't she just breaking down like every normal person? He only had one answer: she was Catherine Willows.

"Can I see?" he asked softly.

She hesitated before biting her lower lip and slowly lifting her shirt slightly with her trembling hands and stopping just below her bra. She didn't dare make eye contact with him as she revealed a big, bluish-purplish bruise on her side. He gasped at the horrible sight and slowly brought his hand to touch it, but the second his fingertips made contact with her skin, she flinched and moved away, covering herself back up in the process.

"Then what?" he questioned, looking back at her face.

"He… he… um, he…" she tried to form words, but her voice was shaky, as well as her body.

"Hey, it's okay, you don't have to tell me," he said softly, placing his hand on her back to try and comfort her, but again, she moved away. He didn't want her to tell him if it caused her such pain.

"No," she protested quietly, shaking her head. "I… I need to. I need to let it out."

"Okay, just take your time. I'm not going anywhere."

She shut her eyes tightly and gulped as she said, "Then he… he entered me."

Lou closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. "Did he use something?"

She shook her head. "No, but I did my own rape kit; came back negative for semen or any disease."

He sighed in relief and whispered, "Thank God."

"It really hurt," she whimpered and he could hear she was crying quietly. He wanted to pull her into a hug and comfort her, but he knew it would be a bad idea.

"He… he moved fast and hard. I tried to stop him, but couldn't, so I just lay there and waited for it to be over."

Lou's heart ached for his girlfriend. He couldn't believe she'd had to go through such a horrible thing and he wished he could take the pain and memories away from her.

"When he was done, he just got up, took my gun, and walked away." For the first time since she had started telling him about the rape, she turned her head and looked at him. Her blue eyes were no longer bright and sparkly like they'd usually been; they were dark and full of sadness and fear, and the tears were pouring out as she whispered, "I was so scared. I still am."

This time, Lou couldn't stop himself and gathered her into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest. Much to his surprise, she didn't pull away. Instead, she clung to him while sobbing into his chest, the tears wetting his white shirt. Her fingers were holding tightly onto his shirt as if she was afraid that he would suddenly leave and she would be left alone. She didn't want to be alone. But he wasn't going to leave. He stroked her back soothingly with one hand and her hair with the other, listening to her crying and holding her shaking body.

"I'm so humiliated, "she cried. "I should've fought; I should've screamed."

"Cath, look at me." He pulled back slightly so he could get a look at her face. Her watery eyes were staring into his as he said, "There's nothing you could do. Don't ever blame yourself. It wasn't your fault. Do you hear me? It wasn't your fault and don't ever think it was."

She nodded slightly and he pulled her into another hug, holding her close. "I should've been there for you," he whispered into her hair, "protected you. I'm so sorry this happened to you."

After a few minutes of holding each other, Catherine's sobs subsided and she pulled away from Lou's embrace. Lou tucked a strand of strawberry-blonde hair behind her ear and looked into her exhausted, bloodshot eyes as he said, "You look tired."

She nodded. "I haven't slept since that night."

"Why don't you go upstairs and try to get some sleep? I'll be right here when you wake up, and if you need anything, just call me." When he saw the hesitative look on her face, he added, "Don't worry, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to let anything happen to you again, I promise. You're safe now."

She nodded slightly and slowly got up on shaky legs. She started walking toward the stairs, but stopped and turned back to face him.

"Lou?" He looked up at her with a questioning expression. "Thank you."

He gave her a small smile and she proceeded to make her way up the stairs. When he heard her bedroom door close, he flopped back on the couch with a heavy sigh. Now that he had heard the details of his girlfriend's rape, he was even angrier than before and just wanted to shoot the man who had done it to her.

Meanwhile, Catherine was changing into her long pajamas, wincing as she accidentally hit the bruise on her side, and climbed into bed. She snuggled down under the covers and closed her eyes, preparing herself to another sleep full of nightmares - if she could sleep at all. But at least now she had Lou to protect her and it already made her feel a little bit safer. Of course it was going to take her time to trust him – or anyone – again, but she knew that Lou would never hurt her. He was there to help her and protect her.

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><p><strong>I know this chapter was a little bit our of character, but it was necessary.<strong>

**You know the drill - reviews are much appreciated.**

**It might take me a while to publish the next chapter, so be patient (:**

**-Zohar.**


	4. Vulnerable

**Disclaimer in chapter 1.**

**A/N: Short chapter, but I'll make up for it next chapter.**

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><p><strong>Vulnerable<strong>

She couldn't believe she was sitting in Ecklie's office and telling her colleagues about her rape.

The night had started like any other night: she had woken up from a nightmares-filled sleep, took a shower to get rid of the horrible, sickening feeling, forced herself to eat something, and left for work. At work, everything had been usual: she'd processed her scene and body, attended autopsy, and waited for results from Trace. She had done exactly what she had been doing in the last week – pretending. Pretending that everything was fine; pretending that nothing had ever happened to her; pretending that her boyfriend and two colleagues knew nothing about her rape; pretending it had never happened and it had all been a bad dream.

But the bad dream had become reality when Lou approached her in the lab's corridors and led her to her office so they could talk privately.

"I talked to Sara," he said said, and before she could let out a word of anger or protest, he continued, "We think you should sue Joe."

"Lou, no!" she exclaimed. The last thing she wanted was to face him again, not to mention let everyone know what had happened to her; what he had done to her. She was humiliated enough.

"Catherine, we got him in custody now," he tried to convince her, "but the DA won't prosecute based on just a single fingerprint in the robbery case. If we want him in jail, we need you."

"Who says I want him in jail? I don't want to see him again, I don't want to hear about him; I want to forget about him."

"So you'll just let him walk free, after what he'd done to you?"

"You weren't there! You don't know how horrible it was!" She was already on the verge of tears and her voice was breaking, but she couldn't let herself cry in front of him again; she was already embarrassed enough. "So you have no right to judge me or force me to make a decision I don't want to make!"

"I'm not forcing you to do anything, Catherine." He tried to rest his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, but she just moved away and turned her back to him so he wouldn't see the tear that made her way down her cheek and was quickly wiped away.

"Look, Cath," he said softly, "I know how hard it is for you. Believe me, I understand, and I wish I could help. But pretending nothing had ever happened isn't gonna solve anything; it's just gonna make you feel worse. I want this guy to pay for what he's done to you, and the only way I can be calm is if I see him behind bars and know that you're safe; that he isn't free and might hurt you again, because I can't lose you, Catherine."

She finally turned to face him and he could tell she was stopping herself from crying by seeing how red and watery her eyes were. The look on her face told him what she didn't want to tell him – she was going to do it. She told herself she was doing it mainly for him, to make him feel better and safer, but deep down inside, she knew she was doing it only for herself, to end this story for once and for all and maybe, just maybe finally be free; free of the nightmares; free of the painful scrubbings in the shower; free of the nauseas and flashbacks. Maybe after ending this story, she could finally move on and go back to her normal life; live her life without fears.

Lou slowly moved toward her, and when she didn't move away, he carefully wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to his body in a tight, yet gentle hug.

"This guy will pay for what he's done to you," he whispered into her hair. "I promise."

Now, she was sitting in Ecklie's office, the door was locked and the blindfolds were down, and in front of her were sitting Ecklie, Sara, and Sofia.

Her only condition was that neither Lou nor anyone else close to her would work her case, and so Sara and Sofia were the ones to work it since they were the only ones who already knew.

"Catherine, why don't you tell us what happened?" Sofia suggested softly.

Catherine looked at her colleague and studied her face for a moment; he facial expression was a serious and professional one, although her deep blue eyes were soft and comforting, and Catherine thought she also saw a little pity in them, which made her feel even worse because she then realized how her colleague was suddenly seeing her. _She_ had become the victim; the victim _she_ would normally comfort and feel bad for. She hated this feeling. She hated feeling vulnerable and weak, and she hated being so exposed, especially when it was her co-workers sitting in front of her.

"It's okay, Catherine, just take your time," Sara said, also softly, when Catherine wouldn't answer Sofia's question immediately. The hesitant and somewhat scared look on Catherine's face told her that talking about the rape was hard for her, and she wasn't blaming her.

Sara's words, however, only made Catherine feel worse about everything and especially, about herself. So she took a deep breath and started talking.

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><p>It was horrible. Catherine couldn't remember the last time she had been so humiliated. She had spent the past hour sitting in a closed room with her boss and co-workers, telling them about her rape, answering their questions, having Sara take pictures of her bruises, describing every little thing in detail. She literally had to keep herself from vomiting.<p>

As she arrived back at the lab, she felt as though everyone's eyes were fixated on her. She felt so exposed; so vulnerable. The way to her office was taking forever, and she just wanted to lock herself in there and sit there in silence, have some time to think about everything. Escape from the world for a while.

However, her plans were changed when she heard Grissom's voice calling her, and he was walking by her side within seconds.

"Catherine, I just heard," he said as he caught up to her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered without looking at him or slowing down. Her voice was steady and strong – the same voice she had used just a few minutes earlier – and she sounded as though nothing was wrong.

"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked.

"Because it wasn't a big deal," she simply said with a shrug.

Enough people had seen her vulnerable this past week, and she wasn't going to let Grissom be one of them. Her relationship with Grissom was something she couldn't quite explain, not even to herself. They have been friends for years; trusted each other, relied on each other. Grissom was not only her best friend, but he was her rock, her shoulder to cry on. This time, however, she couldn't bring herself to show him just how broken she was. She didn't want him to know how she had just lay there – the big, tough woman he knew so well – without doing anything; without fighting, without calling for help. She didn't want him to know how she and her body had been violated in the worst way possible. She just couldn't bring herself to show him the weak side in her. Not this time.

"Catherine, it is a big deal," Grissom insisted. "You shouldn't be keeping this to yourself. It's not healthy and it will just make you feel worse."

"Gil, I'm okay," she said louder than she had planned. "I just want to be left alone." With that, she sped up her pace and Grissom was left behind as she quickly headed toward her office.

On the way there, Wendy saw her and tried to catch up to her. "Hey, Catherine, I got your results on the…" However, she didn't get to finish her sentence as Catherine completely ignored her and walked into her office, slamming the door shut behind her.

She didn't even bother to turn on the light. She walked over to her chair, slumped into it, leaned her head back, closed her eyes, and let out a heavy sigh she hadn't realized she had been holding.

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><p><strong>Sooooo, what did you think?<strong>

**It shouldn't take me so long to update. I think.**

**-Zohar.**


	5. The Trial

**Disclaimer in chapter 1.**

**A/N: I know it took me a while to update, so I'm making up for it with a long chapter. I thought of cutting it to two parts, but I thought it was best if I left it one. Hope it's not too much for you.  
>P.S. I'm not so familiar with court terms the law in Vegas - stuff like that - so I checked some of the things online, but I might be wrong at some parts, so I apologize in advance.<br>Enjoy! **

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><p><strong>The Trial<strong>

"We, the jury, find the defendant, Joe Miller…"

_**A few hours earlier**_

Catherine looked around her, scanned every single corner, every single detail in the big room. It was as if she was doing her job and studying a crime scene.

She had been in a court room numerous times before. She had testified as a CSI on cases of many others; she had helped sending people to jail and had also helped saving people from going there; she had gotten justice for people, but sometimes hadn't succeed. The courtroom looked so familiar and yet, this time felt so different, because this time, Catherine wasn't going to testify about others, she wasn't going to help people, and she wasn't going to send people to jail; this time, the trial was about her. This time, Catherine was the victim and she was the one who needed the help. She was the one who was hanging between two possibilities: getting justice or losing.

A strong hand on her back pulled her out of her thoughts and caused her to jump slightly. She heard Lou mutter an apology before asking something, but she was too nervous and lost in thoughts and worries to hear.

"Catherine?" she heard his voice again, this time louder.

"What?" she finally replied.

"I asked if you're okay," Lou said. She could see the concern on his face and it only made her feel worse.

She wanted to be there. She had spent the last month considering her decision to sue the scumbag who had scarred her for the rest of her life, and eventually come to the conclusion that she didn't want him to get away with it. She wanted to bury him just like she had buried many others during the line of her job. She wasn't going to let him scare her; she was going to be the strong woman she had always known how to be. But in order to do that, she needed to know that Lou was by her side, that he was there for her, and that he was strong for her.

He had been her rock since the day she had told him about the rape. She had yet to fully trust and feel safe around him or anyone else, but deep inside, she knew he loved her and would never leave her. She hung on to that feeling because it was the only thing that kept her from falling apart.

"I'm fine," she answered firmly. "Let's just get this over with."

Lou nodded and led her to the bench in the second line behind the DA, who was already seated. Catherine couldn't help herself; she had to see Joe, the man who, just a month ago, had brutally raped her. So, she turned her head slightly and took a quick glance at him. A quick glance was, however, what she had expected it to be, but the second she saw him, she couldn't take her eyes off of him. He was sitting with his attorney and talking to him. He looked the same: he had the same hair, the same face, and when he suddenly realized he was being stared at, his eyes met hers. She could feel her heartbeats picking up pace as she saw the pure evil in his eyes and the evil smile that was slowly spreading across his face. He looked just the same. He didn't even look sorry, on the contrary; he looked as though he was ready to do it all over again.

When Lou noticed her staring Joe, he took her hand in his and squeezed it gently, causing her to tear her gaze from her rapist and turn to look at him. The look on his face and the thumb stroking her hand softly were enough to calm her heartbeats and comfort her a little bit.

She squeezed his hand a little bit tighter as the judge walked into the room and everyone stood up to welcome her. As she sat down, and so did everyone else, including Catherine and Lou, Catherine risked another quick glance and Joe, but Lou's hand squeezing hers made her turn her head back to the judge. It made her feel a little bit safer knowing that Lou was there with her and she wasn't alone with Joe, again. And Lou knew that looking at Joe wouldn't do her any good. It made her feel somewhat good to know that he was taking care of her.

It seemed as though the trial was taking hours. The DA and defense attorney kept bringing character witnesses and professional ones. And then it was Catherine's turn. The DA called her to the stand. Lou gave her hand one last reassuring squeeze before letting go and allowing her to stand up.

The stand seemed so far and Catherine felt as though she was walking there for hours, although it only took her a few seconds. She was walking slowly and her heartbeats grew more frantic with every step she made. That was it. She was going to talk about her rape in public, in front of all the people in the room; strangers and friends.

She was, at least, grateful she had told Lily not to come to the trial, nor let Lindsey come, let alone tell her about anything. Telling her mother about the rape and witnessing her reaction was hard enough, she couldn't tell Lindsey; she didn't want her daughter to know that her mother has been raped. She was scarred and traumatized enough; it wasn't fair to do the same thing to Lindsey. She knew that if her daughter ever found out what had happened to her, she'd be beyond upset with her for hiding such a big secret from her, but she preferred her daughter mad at her than knowing about the rape.

As she sat on the stand, Catherine looked at everyone in the room: her co-workers were looking at her with what she felt was pity; the jury members were watching her; Joe, his attorney, and all the people who had come to support him were also sitting quietly and looking at her. She saw some people whispering in the crowd, and then her gaze fixated on Lou, who was sitting alone and looking at her. His bright eyes were reflecting pure love and they were encouraging her to stay strong and do what she had to do. Knowing that Lou was there made her feel safe.

"Catherine, can you tell me what you were doing on the night of February 19th?" the DA questioned, standing before Catherine.

"I was working," Catherine answered. "I left work at about 2am and went to get a drink. Since my house was just a few blocks away, I decided to walk home."

"And then what happened?"

Catherine took a deep breath before saying, "I heard footsteps behind me." She was speaking calmly as if there was nothing wrong, as if she was testifying for someone else, and she knew it was making some people in the room arch an eyebrow, but she couldn't care less. "I started running and he grabbed me and pinned me against a wall."

"Did you see his face?" the DA questioned.

"I did, later on."

"Is your rapist in the courtroom right now?"

"Yes, he is." She nodded.

"Can you point him for us, please?" Catherine took a deep breath before looking at Joe again and pointing at him. "The witness pointed the defendant, Joe Miller," the DA stated and turned back to Catherine. "After he grabbed you, what happened?"

"He took my gun out of the holster and threatened me with it," Catherine continued calmly. "He then tossed me into an alley and… and raped me." She had to look away from everyone as she said those words. She knew her friends, her co-workers were hearing every word and it was so humiliating.

"Did you try to struggle, push him away?" the DA asked.

"I did, but he threatened to kill me."

"What happened after he raped you?"

"He took my gun and left."

The DA nodded with a sympathetic smile before turning to the defense attorney. "The witness is all yours."

As the DA returned to her seat, Joe's attorney stood up and made his way over to the stand with a somewhat smug smile.

"Ms. Willows," he started, "you said you went out for a drink that night."

"I did," she replied with a nod.

"May I ask how much you had to drink?"

Catherine looked around for a moment before turning back to the attorney. "Three glasses of scotch."

"Which means you were quite drunk," the attorney said. "Maybe you didn't see right. Perhaps my client wasn't the one who raped you, but you were too drunk to notice and you just assumed it was him. Maybe you weren't even raped," he continued, not giving the vulnerable, strawberry-blonde on the stand time to speak. "Maybe you dreamed or imagined it. After all, there is no physic evidence that you were raped since you took a shower and burned your clothes as you claim."

"Objection!" The DA stood up, stopping Joe's attorney from continuing. "The alcohol level in my client's blood was only 0.8, which is legally drunk in all fifty states of USA. Also, it takes human body at least an hour before the alcohol starts affecting it, and my client was raped only half an hour after she'd started drinking."

"Sustained," the judge stated and the DA sat back down.

"Ms. Willows, did you see my client's face when you were raped?" the attorney changed the subject.

"I did. He had black hair and brown eyes, just like the defendant's."

"There are a lot of people with black hair and brown eyes." The attorney smiled in a somewhat mocking way in Catherine's opinion, but she only shook her head.

"I'll never forget his face."

The attorney gave her the same smile one last smile before changing the subject again. "Ms. Willows, is it true that you used to be a stripper?" Once the words had left his mouth, Catherine heard whispering in the crowd again, but she didn't tear her gaze from the attorney.

"Objection!" the DA protested again, standing up. "My client's old job, which was nearly two decades ago, has nothing to do with her rape."

"It might've affected her personality," the attorney insisted. "She might've dressed skimpily or somehow gave my client a feeling that she wanted to have sex with him."

"Overruled," the judge stated, causing the DA to sit back down with an annoyed sigh. "The witness will answer the question."

Catherine only smiled confidently as she said, "I was an exotic dancer. I never took my clothes off." She took a quick glance at Lou to see him sitting still and looking at her with the same reassuring expression.

"What were you wearing the night of the rape?" the attorney asked.

"I was wearing a white blouse, only the three top buttons open, not much of a cleavage, on top of that I was wearing a black jacket, and I was wearing black trousers," she recited confidently as if she had been practicing it.

"Forgive me for saying this, Ms. Willows," he said, "but you look pretty good. I mean, even now, when you're wearing that suit, I'm sure a lot of guys here are drooling over you."

"Objection!"

"Sustained," the judge agreed with the DA. "Get to the point, please."

"What I'm trying to say," the attorney continued, "is that maybe, without any intention, you were acting a little bit more sexually than you think. The way you dressed, walked. Maybe the rapist thought you wanted this."

"I didn't ask for this," Catherine snapped at him. "I didn't ask to be raped!"

"No further questions, you're honor," the attorney said before going to sit back down beside Joe.

"I can't believe this," Catherine said as she marched out of the courtroom with Lou following behind. "The jury and everyone are sure I'm lying or it's my fault."

"Nobody thinks that," Lou said, startled a little as she turned quickly to face him.

"They do," she insisted, "and we don't even have any evidence to prove he did it. It's all my fault."

"Hey." Lou placed his hands on her arms to stop her from pacing. "This isn't your fault. You did what everyone would do after going through something like that."

"Yeah, well, I'm not everyone; I'm a fucking CSI."

"Okay, relax," he tried to calm her down. "It's just a recess. We'll come back in and we'll prove he's guilty."

"Yeah? How exactly?" she questioned. She knew she had no reason to be upset with Lou. It wasn't his fault and he didn't deserve this kind of treatment; he just wanted to help and he wanted what was best for her, but she needed someone to take all her anger and frustration out on and he was there. Nevertheless, he didn't look like it was bothering him. He understood and let her take everything out on him.

He didn't have any answer. He had no idea how they were going to prove Joe was guilty and, deep inside, he wasn't sure they could. But he couldn't say it to Catherine.

When he didn't say anything, she just sighed, turned around, and started walking away.

"Catherine," he called.

"Just leave me alone, Lou," she said without turning or looking back. "I want to be alone right now." He watched as she walked away and left the building. He didn't know what to do; he felt helpless. The woman he loved with all his heart was going through a crisis and he had no idea how to help her.

As Catherine sat on a bench outside the courthouse, she was thinking about all the events from the past month: the rape, dealing with it, telling people, and now the trial. It was all so overwhelming and emotionally scarring, she wasn't sure she could handle it all. She was beginning to doubt her decision to sue Joe. The very least confidence she had had when she'd first entered the courtroom was now gone after all the speculations and theories the defense attorney had dumped on her.

She jumped slightly as a hand on her shoulder startled her, but when she turned her head to see who the hand's owner was and saw her boss' calm face, she relaxed and returned to her previous position. Grissom slowly walked around the bench and sat down beside her. They were quiet for a few minutes, neither knowing what to say or do, until Catherine broke the silence.

"I know what you're gonna say," she mumbled into her hands.

"How do you know what I'm gonna say?" he questioned without looking at her. He was facing straight ahead of him, his eyes fixated on a dot in the green bush in front of him. It was as if he was embarrassed to look at his co-worker and friend after hearing what had happened to her.

"You're gonna say that I shouldn't have taken that shower and burned my clothes. I destroyed the evidence, I know, but I didn't want an investigation in the first place; I just wanted to forget."

"That's not what I was going to say, though," he said calmly.

"Yeah, well, you were thinking that," she mumbled with a hint of annoyance in her voice. The last thing she wanted was to be judged.

"What I was thinking is that you're the strongest woman I know, Catherine." As the words left his lips, Catherine raised her head and studied his face as if to check he was actually telling the truth. He just continued, "You're tough and amazing and you always know how to get exactly what you want, and I admire you for that.

"What you went through is a horrible thing and I'm so sorry it happened to you. But not a lot of women who've gone through the same thing have the strength and courage to face their rapists again; to sue them and testify against them; to share their story with people. You do. You're here today and you've already gone through the hardest part, and that shows just how strong you are. You can't give up now; you can't just walk away and let him get away after what he's done to you. You need to make him pay and we're all here to help you and support you, because we love you and care about you. We know how hard it is for you, but don't push us away. We're just trying to help you and be there for you."

As Catherine walked back into the courtroom, she felt a little bit more confident. Her friend's words had encouraged her to go through with the trial until the end. She wasn't going to give up; she was stronger than that, and she was going to make the bastard, who had ruined her life, pay for it.

She saw Lou already sitting on their bench and she suddenly felt so guilty for behaving toward him the way she had earlier. He didn't deserve it and she knew it. She just hoped he could understand her and forgive her.

She cautiously sat down next to him, keeping her hands by her sides, her mouth shut, and her eyes fixed on the stand in front of her. However, she mentally breathed a sigh of relief as Lou's hand gently covered hers on the bench. Without making eye contact, she flipped her hand and entwined her fingers with his. Knowing that he was still there for her and wasn't upset or offended by her, made her feel better and more confident they could win the case.

When the DA called Joe to the stand and she saw the man getting up and approaching it, she felt her heartbeats picking up pace all over again and squeezed Lou's hand. Joe looked straight at her as he sat down and the smug smile that appeared on his lips, which told her he wasn't regretting what he'd done, made her feel sick.

"Mr. Miller," the DA started, "you told the police you were at home the night of the rape, is that right?"

"That's right," Joe confirmed.

"Can anyone verify that?"

"Yes, my brother. He was there with me."

"Are you sure? 'Cause it says right here," she said, placing a paper before him on the stand, "that he was in the hospital the night of the rape – food poisoning."

People started, again, whispering in the crowd, and the DA continued, "We also found your blood at the scene, which fits the testimony Ms. Willows had given the police, that she bit you when you tried to kiss her. And we have pictures of the bruise you had on your lips and the scratch marks on your arm, which also fits Ms. Willows' testimony," she said, placing the two pictures on the stand as well.

"That doesn't mean I raped her. It could've happened anywhere and you can't prove me wrong." Joe shrugged. "So I was there, but it doesn't mean I raped her."

"You're right, it doesn't, but I can prove you stole Ms. Willows' gun after raping her. Your fingerprints were found all over the gun, which you also used for a robbery the following night."

"So? I stole her gun. I've already admitted that. Still, it doesn't mean I raped her."

He was too stubborn and it was starting to irritate the DA and make her lose her temper. So, she sounded a little less patient as she asked, "Why did you lie about your alibi?"

"I didn't lie; I was home."

"But no one can verify that. For all we know, you were in that alley, raping my client."

"You can't prove anything," he snapped at her. "Whatever happened to her, she deserved it. Walking like that, with those tiny, black panties… whore!"

A smile slowly spread across the DA's face and confusion washed over Joe's as he saw her face, until his words finally sank in.

"How do you know what kind of panties she was wearing?" the DA questioned. "She never said anything about her panties in her testimony for court; only in the police report, which you never saw." Joe just sat in silence, unable to find his voice nor any words to explain himself. The DA just smiled and stated, "No further questions, you're honor," before going back to her seat.

Joe's attorney saw no point in questioning his client. They both knew he had been caught and there was no way of getting out of it now.

After another recess, everyone returned to the courtroom and sat down as the representative of the jury stood up.

"We, the jury, find the defendant, Joe Miller…"

The room was so silent; the sound of flies outside could actually be heard. Everyone was waiting nervously to hear the word that would rule whether Joe was going to pay for what he'd done to Catherine or not.

The mere second's pause between the representative's words felt like an hour to everyone, especially to Catherine, who was holding her breath and squeezing Lou's hand so tightly their hands had already gone a little bit white, but neither cared. They both waited to hear what the jury had ruled.

And then the big word came. The word they had all gathered there in order to hear.

"Guilty."

The room filled with voices: sighs of relief, anger, disappointment, happiness, and so on, and only Catherine sat still, without making a sound, and closed her eyes. For a second, everything was dark and the whole world ceased to exist. She was in her own world. She needed a few seconds to register the representative's words and process everything.

The sound of the judge pounding her gavel and calling "order in the court" brought her back to reality, and she opened her eyes just in time to hear the judge telling the verdict.

"Mr. Miller," she said, "I'm charging you with raping a cop and I sentence you to ten years in prison with no option of parole." She pounded her gavel again before standing up and leaving the courtroom to fill with everyone's voices again.

"Thank you," Lou said with a smile as he shook the DA's hand. He turned around, expecting to find Catherine, but she was no longer there. As he looked up, he saw her hurrying out of the room and quickly followed her, trying – and failing – to avoid everyone on the way.

By the time he was finally out of the courthouse, Catherine was nowhere to be seen and he couldn't reach her on her cell phone. He left a few worried voice mails before jumping into his SUV and driving around the dark city in search of his girlfriend.

Just when he arrived on a secluded part of the desert an hour later, he finally saw her. She was standing in the middle of nowhere with her gun in her hands and shooting into the cold air. He quickly climbed out of the car and hurried toward her.

"Catherine!" he called, but she didn't stop shooting. She was staring straight ahead of her with an empty expression on her face.

"Catherine, stop!" he said when he finally reached her, grabbing her arm. She, however, shook his hand off and proceeded to shoot.

"Catherine, why are you doing this? We won. He's going to jail. We should be celebrating."

"You can celebrate," she snarled. "I have no reason to celebrate."

"Yes, you do. You buried him."

"No, Lou." She stopped shooting and turned to face him. "He buried me. He raped me, violated my body, humiliated me! So no, I have no reason to celebrate."

"But it's over now," he tried to comfort her, but she cut him off.

"For you maybe. It's far from over for me! Just because he's going to jail doesn't mean he didn't rape me, doesn't mean I don't have to live with that scar for the rest of my life. I can't touch, trust anybody. I feel horrible and, now that everyone knows everything, I feel humiliated."

She didn't wait for a response from him; she just proceeded to shoot into the dark night until she suddenly felt his hand on hers, stopping her from pulling the trigger. He gently lowered her hands until she finally dropped the gun to the ground.

She felt empty. She had an opportunity to start over and she had no idea what she was going to do. She felt helpless and hopeless; weak and vulnerable. And now, she was losing her shield completely. All the strength she had still been carrying was slowly slipping through her fingers as Lou pulled her into a hug. She didn't pull away, however. She felt somewhat warm and safe in his strong arms, against his big chest. His shirt smelled like him and she sniffed it, content to feel close to him, as he pulled her tightly against his body.

Lou was her rock and he was there for her to help her, support her, and be with her. She knew she could lean on him and, when the time came, trust him, and she was going to hang on to it as long and tight as she could. That's why she let the warm tears slowly and silently make their way out of her eyes and down her cheeks.

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><p><strong>Hope you liked it. Please tell me what you think!<strong>

**Next chapter is the last one, btw.**

**-Zohar.**


	6. Safe

**Danger – Chapter 6**

Catherine leaned back in her chair and patted her tummy with a sigh.

"I'm full," she stated, earning a smile from her dark haired boyfriend as he cleared the plates off the table, and watched with a smile playing on her lips as he loaded the dishwasher. She would never admit it to him, but she loved watching him working in her kitchen, doing what men usually think is the woman's job. It was another thing that showed her that Lou wasn't just every man; he was her man and he was different, special.

It had been a few months since the trial and they had spent as much time together as they could ever since. Lou would cook for Catherine, help her with Lindsey, and just be there for her, trying to make her feel better and safe.

Nevertheless, except for the first, tender kiss they had shared a couple of months earlier, and some light kisses from time to time afterwards, their relationship had yet to become physical again. Lou didn't mind at all, though. He knew that after what Catherine had been through, it would be extremely hard for her to be intimate again, and he wasn't going to rush her; he would wait for her to be ready. And if she never wanted to have sex again, then so be it. He would stick with her even then, because being with her and helping her getting through the trauma was all he cared about. Just seeing how better she was doing already and how she was succeeding move on with her life was making him feel better himself.

Catherine, however, had waited enough. The time she had spent with Lou over the past few months had been great; he would listen whenever she wanted or needed to talk and he would always be there for her, whether she needed it or not. He had managed to take the thoughts and memories of the rape almost completely off her mind and she was no longer feeling so weak, vulnerable, and scared like she had felt just a few months earlier. Also, knowing that Joe was now rotting in jail certainly helped her feel safer.

When Lou turned away from her to dry his hands, she got up and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind just as he put the towel back down on the counter. She enjoyed the feeling of his abdomen muscles tensing slightly and then relaxing under her grasp, which only made her wrap her arms tighter around him.

"Thanks for dinner," she murmured against his shoulder blade before pressing a soft kiss to it. "It was great."

"You're welcome." He smiled as he turned around, causing her to unwrap her arms from around his body. He looked into her eyes, as if to ask permission to kiss her, and she, in response, smiled softly and pressed her lips gently to his. Over the past few months, he would always make sure it was okay with her before he would kiss her. He didn't want to push her into anything and he knew it was also making her feel safer.

When they broke apart, Catherine's eyes were still closed softly, as if she was replaying the kiss over and over in her head – trying to stay in this moment for just a little while longer. Lou waited quietly and patiently until she finally opened her eyes, and her deep, blue eyes were staring deep into his bright, green-gray ones as she said in almost a whisper, "I'm ready." When he looked at her slightly confused, she said, "I want to try."

This time, Lou knew what she meant. He gently cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs caressing her neat cheekbones softly, and tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear as he asked quietly, "Are you sure?" He looked directly into her deep, blue eyes - almost getting lost in them like he usually did - trying to see if they were speaking the words her mouth was; if she was actually serious and confident about it.

In an attempt to assure him she indeed knew what she was saying, Catherine took one of his big hands in her small one, lowered it to her lips, and pressed a soft kiss to the palm. "I'm sure," she whispered as she let go of the hand. She wrapped her arms, once again, around his waist, pulling him a bit closer, and kissed his lips tenderly before taking one of his hands in hers again and leading him out of the kitchen, up the stairs, and finally, into her bedroom.

It was the first time in months that he was in her bedroom. Of course he'd been there before, but it had always been to help her fall asleep or just sit and talk with her. This was the first time he was there for what they were about to do in just a few minutes.

Once the bedroom door was shut behind them, Catherine and Lou stood in front of each other, staring deeply into each other's eyes, breath and chests heaving. Catherine was the first one to step forward and grab the hem of Lou's T-shirt. Ever so slowly, she pulled it up and he raised his arms so she could pull it over his head. She dropped the T-shirt on the floor, by their feet, and stared at his bare chest, studying every inch with her eyes as if it was the first time she saw it. It felt like the first time, considering the amount of time that had passed since the last time she'd seen his body.

Her blue eyes were following her hand as she raised it and oh, so slowly brought it closer to his chest. It seemed to take eternity until her fingertips finally made contact with his skin in a mere touch. However, Lou just stood still, watching her every movement patiently, and she was grateful for that. Not many men would let her take this much time, let alone wait for her to be ready to actually have sex. But Lou was not many men; Lou was… she couldn't even describe it in words. For her, he was perfect. He was exactly what she needed, and not just right now; he was exactly what she had been waiting for her whole life. And finally, he was there, with her, about to show her how much he loved her and cared for her.

As her palm joined her fingertips on his skin, she felt his chest muscles dancing beneath her fingers and somehow, for some reason she couldn't quite explain, it made her feel safe. Lou watched as her hand slowly and gently traveled along his big chest, touching and caressing everywhere it could reach.

When she was finally done, she stepped back until she could, once again, see his whole body, and stared into his eyes again. She saw love – pure, unconditional love – in them and she knew she was in good hands. Lou would never hurt her, and the past few months, in which he had helped, protected, and supported her, proved her right. That was why she slowly reached for the hem of her own shirt and took hold of it. Closing her eyes and biting her lower lip slightly, she pulled it off her body, remaining clad in her pink, lacy bra.

Lou stared at the beautiful body of the goddess before him; at the perfect struture and even more perfect creamy and freckled skin. The bruises were long gone and she looked undoubtedly gorgeous. He had to admit: he missed seeing her body. God only knows what it would be like to touch it again. However, he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, and when he felt her gaze on him, he looked up at her to see her smiling shyly at him.

"Your turn," she said in a voice just above a whisper. He gave her a warm, reassuring smile before undoing his jeans and slowly pushing them down his legs until they hit the floor and he kicked them off his ankles.

Now that he was standing in only his boxers in front of her, Catherine couldn't help but look down at his growing erection before snapping her eyes back up to meet his. She never tore her gaze from his as she slowly lowered her own pants and she stepped out of them.

She was standing before him, clad in only her matching bra and panties, and her heart was pounding furiously, threatening to beat its way out of her chest every second. They stared at each other's bodies as though trying to memorize every part, every inch.

"How are you doing?" Lou finally broke the silence. Catherine was quiet for far too long and he wanted to make sure that she was okay; that she didn't feel pushed into anything.

Catherine could sense his concern through his gaze and voice and she drew in a deep breath and replied, "I'm good. I'm good." Then, she walked over to him and ran her hands up his toned chest, over his shoulders, and down his muscled back, eventually pulling him closer and leaning up to claim his mouth with hers in a kiss.

This kiss was different than the ones they had shared before: it was one of passion and need, but most of all, love, and Lou couldn't stop the quiet groan that escaped his mouth at the feeling of her soft lips caressing his. Catherine didn't mind, though. She just smiled against his lips and pulled his body closer to hers. As the kiss turned deeper, Lou's fingers ran across Catherine's shoulders and arms, causing her body to shudder slightly at the mere touch, and dragging her bra straps down her arms. Without breaking from the kiss, not wanting to lose the contact she didn't realize she had missed so much, Catherine helped Lou by reaching behind her back and unclasping the bra, letting it fall to the floor between their bodies and land on their feet. They didn't bother stepping aside or kicking it away, though.

Now Catherine was even more exposed, but it didn't feel so scary this time. Despite the parts of clothing that kept being removed, with every minuet passing, she felt more and more comfortable with this man, and the closeness between them didn't bother her as much as it had before.

She wrapped her arms tighter around his waist and pulled him with her toward the bed. When the back of her knees hit the mattress, she broke away from the kiss and slowly lay down on her back, pushing herself up the bed until her head finally rested on the pillows.

Lou looked down at the almost naked woman lying before him on the bed: the blue eyes staring up at him weren't so dark and sad anymore; they were starting to get their sparkle back, and she didn't look so scared and weak anymore; she looked relaxed. They both wanted it.

Catherine stared up at him as he lowered his body on top of hers and, for a second, the image of Joe doing the exact same thing flashed in her mind. She could see his face; the evil smile and the devilish gleam in his eyes, and it caused her to shiver. She almsot wanted to push Lou away, but when she saw the pure love and devotion in his eyes, the goodness radiating from his face, she reminded herself that it was Lou, not Joe, lying on top of her, and shook that image off her mind, letting herself and her body relax underneath him.

It wasn't Joe; it was Lou. He wasn't going to rape her; he was going to make love to her. He loved her.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Lou whispered, his hands gently holding her hips. It made her heart soar to see how much he cared. He kept making sure she was alright and ready and it just showed her how much he loved her. She knew that if she said she wasn't ready, then they wouldn't do anything. He wouldn't go in a mood with her; he would just support her and do whatever she wanted him to do. But she wanted it, more than anything in the world, and so she nodded her response, looking straight into his bright, loving eyes to show him she was, indeed sure.

He looked into her eyes as he took hold of the waistband of her pink, lacy panties and slowly pulled them down her long legs. Her breath hitched and her body shuddered slightly now that she was fully exposed beneath him. There was no going back. The body she had been hiding for months from every one was now shown. But she wasn't as scared as she thought she would be; in fact, she wasn't scared at all.

Lou's admiring eyes slowly wandered her body, inch by inch, memorizing every part. His hand joined the slow travel of his eyes as it slowly caressed its way down and cheek, neck, and chest and stopped on her breasts. It made slow circles around her left nipple before circling its way over to the right one, and repeating the motion down to her stomach. Catherine's eyes were following the path of his hand and her body was reacting to his touch: it was shivering under his fingers, and when they finally settled on her abdomen and circled her navel, the muscles of her stomach sank and her butt lifted gently off the bed.

Lou enjoyed seeing the reactions he was causing in his lover's body. He knew those weren't bad reactions; she was enjoying his little ministrations. By the look in her eyes, he knew he was succeeding in what he was trying to achieve: he was bringing her pleasure and helping her feel readier and more confident about what they were about to do.

He gently flipped them so that she was lying on top of him and looking down at him with a slight surprise showing on her face. He wanted her to be in charge, feel safe, and he knew that the new position would give her just the control she needed.

"Is this okay?" he asked softly as she sat up, her legs on either side of his body. She smiled softly down at him and nodded.

She grabbed the waistband of his boxers, took a deep breath while biting her lip slightly, and then pulled them down his legs, quick and painlessly, looking into his eyes the whole time.

As she looked down at his erection, her heart started beating faster. Lou felt it and saw the hesitative look in her eyes, and he could sense she wasn't as ready as she said she was. "It's okay," he said softly. "We don't have to do anything."

"No," she protested, shaking her head firmly. "I want to do this. I _need_ to do this."

"Okay, just take your time. Whenever you're ready."

That was it. It was going to happen. She closed her eyes softly, drew in a deep breath, and then did it. She rose up slightly and lowered herself onto his awaiting erection until he was enveloped in her warm depth.

What Lou was witnessing was her eyes squeezing tighter, her upper teeth biting down on her lower lip, her fingers tightening around the silken, white sheets and pulling them up toward her body, and a whimper escaping her mouth. What she was witnessing, however, which was causing those reactions, was Joe grabbing her and slamming her against the wall, pulling out her gun and pressing it to her temple, tossing her into the darkened, quiet alley, smiling devilishly down at her, yanking her clothes off and beating her, and having his evil way with her. She could see eery second of that night; she could feel every mere touch; hear every threat and evil compliment.

And then it all became blank.

All the images from the rape disappeared as quickly as they appeared and she opened her eyes to see Lou smiling reassuringly up at her, waiting patiently to see what she was going to do next. His eyes and smile reflected nothing but love and goodness and she knew at this moment that she could let go of the memories and just be with the love of her life. Joe was paying for what he'd done to her and she won. She beat him.

"You okay?" Lou asked when he saw the look on her face. He knew that what he didn't want to happen was happening: she was remembering the rape. But when the horror filled look on her face was replaced by a happy, radiant one, he could let himself smile as well.

"I'm more than okay." She smiled down at him before bending down and planting a kiss on his lips, her hand gently stroking his cheek as she did so. She then rose back up and looked into his eyes as she started to move her hips slowly.

Lou tried not to let out too much noise, but he couldn't stop the soft groans that left his lips when he felt the body he had missed so much moving above him. Catherine didn't mind, however. On the contrary; she did what he least expected her to do and whispered, "Touch me."

When he just stared at her with a somewhat shocked expression, his hands still resting on the mattress on either side of his body, she reached for one of his hands, took it in hers, and raised it to drag up her stomach, causing the muscles there to dance beneath his hand again. When she finally reached her breast, she placed his hand on it and let it go. Lou looked up into her eyes as he cupped her supple breast in his big hand and started massaging it softly, eliciting soft, quiet moans from his lover. He enjoyed hearing the throaty sound coming from her; it let him know she enjoyed it and wasn't suffering, and he had to admit: he had missed hearing this sound.

Catherine didn't think she would feel him inside her again – didn't think she would have the courage – but here she was, riding the man she loved slowly, and it felt so good; he felt so good. She bent down again, her soft breasts pressing against his strong chest, and kissed his lips, deeply and passionately. This time, her tongue sneaked out and sought access into his mouth, and he parted his lips without further encouragement, allowing her tongue to mingle with his, the soft contact sending waves of heat throughout their bodies, where sweat was already starting to form.

Catherine used this momentary distraction to wrap her arms around Lou's body and flip them so that he was now lying on top of her again. When he realized they had changed position, Lou broke from the kiss and looked down at her, only mere inches keeping their faces apart.

"You sure you're okay with this?" he asked. Even though Catherine was the one who had set the new position, he was afraid it would make her feel uncomfortable, vulnerable that he was now in charge. But he needn't of worries.

She smiled softly and raised her hand to stroke his cheek as she whispered, "I'm sure. I feel safe with you."

The corners of his lips twitched upwards at her words and he lowered his head until their lips met again in a soft kiss. When they broke apart, he started moving inside her, slowly and gently. He pulled out until just the head of his cock was inside her, and then stroked back in until he was fully buried within her warm depth. He repeated this rhythm over and over again, eliciting soft moans from the woman beneath him. He wanted to give her the ultimate pleasure, wanted to make it good for her, help her forget about the rape and focus on their love making, and by the expressions on her face, he knew he was doing the job right.

He buried his face in her neck and peppered it with kisses as he moved, causing more moans of pleasure to escape the redhead's slightly parted lips. Catherine wrapped her arms around his back, holding onto him tightly. Her chin was resting on his shoulder as his body moved against her, sending her to another plane of existence with every stroke of his cock inside of her.

As she neared her release, tears started forming in her eyes. But they weren't the same tears she had had when Joe was having his way with her. No, those were tears of happiness. She was so happy to be in the arms on the man she loved and trusted with all her heart, to make love with him, to feel him moving against her, inside her, focusing on bringing _her_ pleasure, reminding her how much she actually did love sex. Their bodies were so close, not even air was separating between them, and this closeness didn't scare her anymore, didn't make her feel uncomfortable; it made her feel good, loved, safe.

A smile formed on her lips and she couldn't control the single tear that made its way down her cheek as her walls contracted around Lou's member and her juices spilled onto it, causing the grip of her hand on his back and shoulder blade to tighten and a whimper of pleasure to escape her lip.

When Lou felt the milky actions of her inner muscles, he lifted his head from her neck and looked at her flushed face. "Did you…?"

She just nodded her confirmation before he could finish his sentence. A smile slowly spread on his face and he stroked her golden hair, which was now wet with sweat, as he bent down to kiss her lips. "I'm so proud of you," he whispered when he pulled away.

Catherine couldn't find the words to respond. She was so overwhelmed by all her emotions, she felt as though she had lost her voice. But as Lou started to lift his body away from hers and pull out of her, her voice returned.

"What are you doing?"

"What?" he questioned with a confused expression. "You did come, didn't you?"

"Yes, but you didn't."

He smiled warmly at her as he stroked her hair once again. "It's okay," he assured her. "This was all for you. I'm fine."

The corners of Catherine's lips pulled up into a soft smile at his words. Her heart soared when she realized just how much he cared for her, and only for her. He wasn't even planning on achieving his own release; he just wanted to make it good for her, help her forget about the rape and finally move on with her life. Saying she appreciated it was an understatement. She loved this man so much. And so, she pulled him back down and kissed his lips softly before moving her head slightly so her lips were mere inches from his ear as she whispered, "You're not going anywhere until you come."

Lou gulped as he heard her sultry voice. Suddenly, she didn't sound scared, weak, or vulnerable; she sounded like the old Catherine; the strong, tough woman he knew, who would always call the shots.

He smiled down at her and kissed her before driving back into her wet, welcoming centre. He, again, moved slowly, but as Catherine spread her legs wider, allowing him deeper penetration, and placed her hands on his ass, pushing him deeper within her, he took the hint and started moving faster, causing her moans to grow louder and her grip on his ass to tighten.

As he finally reached his release, his rhythm faltered a little and he pumped into her a couple more times before spilling his hot load inside of her with a grunt.

Both lay in silence, panting and holding onto each other, enjoying the afterglow of their love making. Eventually, Lou, not wanting to crash the small body beneath him, rolled off of Catherine and lay beside her. Not wanting to lose the closeness, however, Catherine moved closer and cuddled up into his body, resting her head and hand on his chest and her leg between his legs, and he, in turn, wrapped his arm around her back, pulling her even tighter against his body, and stroked the arm that was resting on his chest.

As their bodies started to cool, Lou pulled the white, silken sheet over their bodies. They kept lying in silence, curled up together, until he finally asked, "How was it?"

Catherine smiled as she lifted her head from his chest and looked down at him. "It was amazing," she said, pressing her lips to his for a moment before pulling back. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled back, running a hand through her strawberry-blonde hair.

"I love you," she whispered, looking directly into his bright eyes. His smile grew bigger as he placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her down for a tender kiss.

"I love you, too," he said when they pulled apart.

Catherine returned to her previous position with her head on his chest and closed her eyes. As she slowly drifted off to sleep, a smile was still plastered on her face. She knew she would never forget about the rape and the scar would always be there, but now, thanks to the man holding her securely in his arms, she knew she was finally ready to move on with her life. Lou was there for her and he was going to continue being there. And as long as he was there, she knew she was safe.

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><p><strong>THE END.<strong>

**I hope you liked this story. I know I enjoyed writing it. Please let me know what you thought (:**

**-Zohar.**


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